The Kenyan military has said it would seize the port city of Kismayo, Shabaab’s stronghold in southern Somalia, and remain in the area until the terror group was defeated. Kenyan forces have already taken control of Ras Kamboni, a town on the Kenyan border just south of Kismayo that previously served as a terrorist command and control center.
The statement was made yesterday by Major Emmanuel Chirchir, a spokesman for the Kenyan Army, according to The Associated Press. Chirchir said that Ras Kamboni was taken by a Kenyan battle group that entered southern Somalia from the Kiunga border crossing point. Shabaab forces abandoned the area without a fight.
“This avenue provides the Defence Forces with a vantage to clear al Shabaab and pirates on the Somali waters from Ras Kiamboni to Kismayu,” Chirchir said, according to The Nation.
In late 2006 and early 2007, Ras Kamboni served as a training and communications hub for the Islamic Courts Union, Shabaab’s predecessor, and al Qaeda. Slain al Qaeda leaders Fazul Mohammed and Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhand were among several leaders sheltering there. Ethiopian forces fought for two weeks before seizing the town.
Kenyan forces are advancing on Shabaab strongholds in the south from two directions. Further west, Kenyan forces remain stalled on the road to Afmadow after capturing the town of Qooqani. Kenyan officials said that troops are bogged down due to heavy rains in the region.
The Kenyan Army has deployed two battalions, one in each sector, against Shabaab forces, The Associated Press reported. Each battalion has an estimated 800 soldiers, and is backed by armor, attack helicopters, and artillery. Strike aircraft have also been spotted over southern Somalia. The US is known to operate unmanned Predator and Reaper drones over the region.
Ethiopia attempted to crush the Islamist groups in the south in the recent past, only to cede ground. Ethiopian forces invaded Somalia in late 2006 and pushed the Islamic Courts Union from power. But after fighting a bitter insurgency that saw an Islamic Courts faction and Shabaab retake control of much of central and southern Somalia, the Ethiopian troops withdrew from Somalia in 2009, leaving a weak Transitional Federal Government that is backed by an estimated 9,000 African Union peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi.
Shabaab has been under pressure after abandoning most of Mogadishu over the last several months. Its forces have withdrawn to areas south of the capital. Despite losing ground in Mogadishu and against Kenyan forces in the south, however, Shabaab still controls vast areas, including the western town of Baidoa, which was once the alternate seat of power for the Somali government, as well as the port cities of Marka and Baraawe.
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Much like the Helmand river in Afghanistan if the Kenyans with manpower assistance from Ethiopia & technical assistance from the US can deny access to the Jubba river the Shabaab is finished.
I would love to see a coordinated effort of Kenyan and Ethiopian forces backed by Western assets to smash al Shabab once and for all. Somalia can only be left to fester for so long. It will have to be dealt with eventually in the larger scope of the war against Islamic radicalism. No better time than now.
This is probably more of a large punitive raid to force an agreement from al Shabaab stopping cross border terrorism and kidnappings.
It will be interesting to see if they can block access to the refugee camps in Kenya by al Shabaab and Somali criminal groups. Eliminating that source of income and supply could have nearly as much effect as the rest of the campaign.
Squeeze the bastards into smaller and smaller areas, then use some fuel-air munitions on them. Extermiante them when possible. Find a training camp, use the moabs.
For the good of the future of Africa and the civilized world, do this ASAP.
Haven’t been a big fan of Kenya since they gave us our current President, but I’m rooting for them and wish them well in this endeavor.
In a saner world Kenya would simply make a longer operation worth its time and annex a buffer zone.
In this way unworthy nations would be whittled down to what they are capable of administering.
Survival of the ethical.
Kenya’s military is a reasonably professional force with strong cooperation and technical agreements with the UK, the US and the IDF. These relationships run deep and span decades and many senior officers have had training at Sandhurst, West Point and other top-tier military academies. Kenya is one of the few countries in the region that has never been ruled by a military junta.
Kenya’s defense minister, Mohamed Yusuf Haji and several of its senior military leaders are Kenyan Somali by ethnicity, so is a meaningful part of the regular forces. I expect them to cover and hold ground very easily but vulnerability to asymmetric attacks like IEDs could be an issue, particularly if the mission is protracted and al shabab gets reinforcements from al Qaeda bomb-makers with Afghan experience.
I have no doubt in my mind that Kenya shall capture Kismayoo with or without NATO support. The biggest problem now is co-ordination between Kenya, and NATO forces, and local spotters/spies on the ground. Kenya has one of the most experienced armed forces in the world, trained in insurgent prone Western and Middle East countries. It has not gone to open war for a very long time precisely because its covert operatives and unconventional assets are some of the best.
About blaming Kenya for watching Somalia collapse, as was posted in the Threat Matrix, I would like to remind the writer that the last arms shipment to the Siad Barre Government before its collapse in 1991 was directly from the USA Government – did you want Kenya to intervene against arms that the USA was supplying? It is also a fact that USA helicopter borne forces watched from the air, as Kenyan journalists were slaughtered by mobs after the same helicopters had killed many innocents during the infamous “Operation Michigan” in Mogadishu, so lets not dig back at the history books. There is a task at hand that is what is important.
Thanks for the information, Shoreline. : )
It appears that US Predator drones are providing some sort of coordinated aerial surveillance cover for the Kenyan military as it pursues Al Shabab in Somalia. These reports have been confirmed by Kenya’s leading newspaper group, Nationmedia. It also appears that Kenya is building an international coalition that includes Ethiopia, Sudan and other nations in IGAD to capitalize on developments on the ground. This story will grow from the background into one of the bigger flashpoints in international news. There are at least 4000 Kenyan troops in Somalia pursuing Al Shabab towards Hayo and Afmadow.